Hard Crossword Puzzles
3 puzzlesPlay online or printAnswer keysLarge print
These puzzles open with the Hard clue set already selected. The grid is the same one a beginner would see with the Easy clues; what changes is the wording. Instead of naming the answer, a Hard clue comes at it from an angle: a lesser-known fact, a double meaning, a phrase where the answer is only implied, or a question mark that signals a bit of wordplay.
To be straight about it, these are hard clues on friendly grids, not expert newspaper puzzles. The themed criss-cross layout means every answer belongs to one topic and most cross at least one other word, so you always have a theme and a few letters to lean on. Serious tournament solvers will find them a brisk warm-up. For everyone else they are a real step up from Easy and Medium.
The puzzles here are the ones that hold up best with tougher clues: themes written for teens and adults, and the subject puzzles with longer, more technical vocabulary such as the human body, ancient history and the periodic table. Knowing the subject helps, but careful reading helps more.
Puzzles with Hard clues
Tips
Read Hard clues twice and ask what each word in the clue is doing. If a clue ends in a question mark, expect a pun or a playful definition. Solve the shortest answers first, and use the theme as your best hint.
If you get properly stuck, drop that one clue to Medium with the toggle, fill it in, and switch back. On paper, print the Hard set for yourself and the Easy set for anyone solving the same grid alongside you, then compare notes at the end.